"National Nurses United": Rose Ann DeMoro

In an article dated 3/2/11, found at The Nation, John Nichols gives the strongest defense of public services and public workers coming from Wisconsin's Rose Ann DeMoro of National Nurses United ... she offered:
. Banks, speculators, mortgage lenders and global corporations caused the economic crisis.
. 2010 third-quarter corporate profits of $1.6 trillion represented the biggest one-year jump in history.
. State and local workers typically earn 11-12 percent less than private employees with comparable education and experience.
. Union victories like the eight-hour workday and weekends off are now threatened with the three-decade-long attack on unions spurred by right-wing icon Ronald Reagan.
. Increased wages and guaranteed pensions put money into the economy, with a ripple effect that creates jobs and improves the economy for all.
......
Isn't this precisely and simply what ALL working families should know?

Again, a serious confusion about private and public sectors. But I will point at some flaws in this argument. You have to compare job to job not experience and education. Many individuals in the private sector and public as well, work outside of their college degrees. In other words, they aren't working the job they went to college for. The comparison made here on the jobs percentage is flawed because you are essentially comparing apples to oranges.
Oh yeah, one more thing, Private corporations have money and The State Budgets do not. If the private corporation goes bankrupt, so does the Union. Therefore, collective bargaining is mote at this point.
If the State goes bankrupt, well that is completely uncharted territory. But the teacher's Union will not have their benefits, the state employees will not have their salaries, and the voters will kick out everyone (Democrat and Republican) who is responsible for the fiasco. Another thing, if the State goes bankrupt, those who depend on State government checks will be waiting a very long time for something that is not coming.
Worker protection laws have already been enacted in States. In fact, I think Wisconsin had a worker protection bill passed in 1905 way before the rise of the Unions and collective bargaining. They aren't going to go away just because collective bargaining does. Again, the logic here is flawed based on an erroneous assumption.
http://legis.wisconsin.gov/lrb/pubs/wb/98wb6.pdf

Erroneous is that there are no facts out there that most certainly state "comparable" private/public job specs ... that public employs are being paid LESS that their private sector counterparts! You would need to do that very available research before calling anything an "assumption"! And, "no" I won't do that for you!
I'd just like to give Gov. Walker and the billionaire Koch brothers a HARDY thank you for being so ham-handed in pushing their self-serving, virulently anti-union agendas on the schoolteachers, health care workers, park rangers and other public workers of Wisconsin. The Kochs and Walker have unwittingly out smarted themselved (as "conservatives" usually do) ... they have awakened America's workaday MAJORITY!! Check any poll you like.
Thank you very much!! ;)

There have been very many discussions on the "comparing" the public/private sector jobs. The main problem that has been found is that no one was comparing the actual jobs. Instead, there were blanket assumptions made that individuals who had the same degrees and same experience worked in the same type of job and was thus comparable. The fact is they were comparing people who had the same degree and experience but worked in two totally different job capacities. The job dictates the pay not the experience and degree. Thus the assumptions are flawed in that manner.
I could give you two guys with the same degree and experience. However, one works as a manager of a fast food restaurant and the other works as a paper pusher in a government office. Obviously, the paper pusher makes more money. This is just one example on how the jobs of private/public sector percentages can be skewed in favor of one or the other. Unless you are comparing job to job the results are not accurate.
Actually, Gov. Walker has done something very impressive. He has stood up to the Unions. As far as the Koch brothers, I am not sure what you read about them. But they actually own several companies in Wisconsin and a few other states. They are actually employing people. They aren't convincing their employees to choose a political side. Just because they make a profit and choose to spend their own capital on what they support does not make them the enemy. In fact, you probably never have even heard of them before the prank call.

Sweetie, I could talk with you about the Koch brothers going all the way back to their daddy Fred Koch, the founder of that company .. the fact that he helped construct oil refineries for Joseph Stalin even before expanding that business in the U.S.!! Can you have that discussion with me right here, right now ... without any physical research ... from the mind baby, from the enlightened mind! I don't think so.

Gladys, the majority of the American people and more importantly in this case, the majority of the people of Wisconsin agree with us but there's nothing in the world that will ever change the minds of the anti-union conservatives. They seriously have no problems with our elections being bought and paid for by corporate and other special interests but heaven forbid if the unions are involved in any way. This last election 7 of the top 10 donors gave all or most of their money to the GOP; the three that gave mostly to the Democrats happened to be unions and the conservatives don't like that, they want it ALL.
Annie

Apparently to you it IS all about campaign dollars. I don't see you talking at all about the actual function of public unions. You seem to only care about the fact that they give money to democrats. I really get the impression that if unions gave money to republicans you'd fully support disbanding them since money is the only thing you've mentioned.

I think you nailed it, Gladys. They don't think any of the problems facing "other people" can ever touch them but who knows...maybe someday one of them will lose their health insurance or their job. Maybe they'll find out what it's like to work for an arrogant boss who gets away with constant harassment.
Annie

"State and local workers typically earn 11-12 percent less than private employees with comparable education and experience."
That's really a load of crap. Go on and check what private schools are paying. Public school teachers make more at every level of their career AND have better benefits. Public school teachers literally make 19-41 percent MORE than their private sector counterparts.
"Union victories like the eight-hour workday and weekends off are now threatened"
That's just bogus scare tactics. Almost all my jobs have been non-union and I've never had to worry about losing 8 hour workdays. Of course my current job, where I'm forced to be in a union, saddles me with a 7 hour workday and other annoying restrictions that I'd much rather do without. The "weekends off" crap is also garbage. I work weekends all the time right now even though I'm in a union because working weekends is part of my job.
"Increased wages and guaranteed pensions put money into the economy"
If you're talking about public sector then that actually takes money OUT of the economy as it's taking more tax dollars from people to fund the wages and pensions.